publication-5

Public Higher Education Institutions

Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava

Ventúrska 3, 813 01 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Rector

prof. PhDr. Martin Šmatlák

Number of students in 2024/25: 973

Number of scientific degree lecturers in 2024/25: 285

Short description

The Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) was founded in 1949 and has approximately one thousand students. It offers study programmes in both artistic and scientific fields in the areas of theatre, dance, music, film and multimedia. The number of applicants exceeds the capacity of VŠMU, so admission procedures are conducted for each level of study (bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral). The key pillars of education are an individual approach, active support of creative abilities, and practical collaboration with prestigious artistic institutions in Slovakia.

List of faculties

Theatre Faculty

Film and Television Faculty

Music and Dance Faculty

Scientific research/artistic projects

The Faculty of Film and Television annually organizes the Áčko Film Festival, an international platform for showcasing student films, featuring a competitive section. Similarly, the Theatre Faculty organizes the Istropolitana Project, an international festival of theatre schools. The Faculty of Music and Dance strengthens its global presence through performance competitions, including the annual International Music Competition, which evaluates and recognizes young talents from around the world, as well as through artistic collaborations. In 2024, the Faculty of Music and Dance hosted the international conference Effects of Ideologies and Socio-Political Crises on Musical Culture and collaborated with the University of Bergen on Opener – Sharing the Performer’s Process, an artistic research project. Meanwhile, the Institute of Theatre, Film, and Music Theory launched the 1st International Doctoral Conference “Identities”, fostering academic dialogue on contemporary research themes. Beyond institutional projects, faculty members and researchers actively engage in KEGA (Cultural and Educational Grant Agency) projects, supporting innovation in artistic education and research in Slovakia. As of January 1, 2024, VŠMU joined the WIRE (Widening Innovation + Research Excellence) project within the FilmEU Alliance. This initiative aims to strengthen research and innovation capacities, particularly in widening countries, by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among eight European higher education institutions.

International relations

International cooperation is a cornerstone of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU), enhancing the quality of education, research, artistic endeavour, and social impact. The Academy‘s long-term strategy for 2019 – 2025 prioritizes internationalization by fostering collaboration and networking with artistic universities worldwide. It actively engages in international higher education initiatives and supports the mobility of researchers through organizational and financial assistance. VŠMU is embedded in local, cross-border, and international networks. Since 2023, it has been a member of FILMEU+ project – the European Alliance for Film and Media Arts (https://www.filmeu.eu). VŠMU maintains strong partnerships with leading artistic universities in the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Norway, Estonia and Bulgaria. Within the Erasmus+ programme, it has established 140 interinstitutional agreements with universities across Europe, along with five partnerships outside the European Union.

Membership in foreign organizations: ELIA (European League of Institutes of Arts), ITI/UNESCO (International Theatre Institute), ENCATC (European network of Cultural Administration Training Centres), UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette), FIRT (International Federation for Theatre Research), IATC (International Association of Theatre Critics), CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinema et Television) and its European counterpart GEECT, WDEA (World Dance Education Alliance), AEC (European Association of Conservatoires, and Music Schools), ESTA (European String Teachers Association)